NEWARK – An overflow Carpenter Center auditorium crowd greeted Danny Rocco as he was introduced as Delaware’s new football coach this afternoon.
The 56-year-old Huntingdon, Pa. native agreed to leave Richmond on Monday evening after coaching Richmond for the last five seasons.
He led the Spiders to three straight NCAA Division I FCS playoff appearances, including a trip to the national semifinals two years ago and an appearance in the quarterfinals this fall.
Rocco said he was honored to be the coach at a program with Delaware’s tradition but also that he’s coming to Newark to get the Hens back on track after their first back-to-back losing seasons since 1939. Delaware has finished 4-7 in each of the last two years and hasn’t made the playoffs since going to the national title game in 2010.
Delaware sports information photo/Mark Campbell New Delaware coach Danny Rocco
“I’m here to help return Delaware football to a level of national prominence and put our brand back on the national stage,” Rocco told the crowd of players, season-ticket holders and UD staff. “And like the president (Dr. Dennis Assanis) said, I’m here to do it the right way.”
In 11 seasons as a head coach at both Richmond and Liberty, Rocco’s teams own a record of 90-42. He’s never had a losing record in those 11 years.
He replaces Dave Brock, who was fired in October, midway through his fourth season at Delaware.
“I wasn’t going to rest until I found the right coach for this program,” said first-year UD athletic director Chrissi Rawak. “We had unbelievable interest. That’s not surprising, it just reinforces how special this place is and how special this program is.
“But I can tell you, as we went through each step in this process, it became so clear to us that Danny Rocco was the right man for Delaware.”